Man Who Recorded People In Bathroom At A Nassau Sleep Center Sentenced: DA

MANHASSET, NY — A Brooklyn man was sentenced to jail after recording patients in bathrooms at the Northwell Health Sleep Disorders Center while working as a sleep technician, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said Thursday.

Sanjai Syamaprasad, 48, pleaded guilty in July to five counts of second-degree unlawful surveillance and two counts of tampering with physical evidence before Judge Meryl Berkowitz, both E felonies, Donnelly said.

He unlawfully recorded patients in bathrooms at the Great Neck sleep center for nine months and later destroyed the evidence of his crime, Donnelly said.

The DA recommended that he be sentenced to one to three years in prison for each count of the indictment, for a total of 7 to 21 years in prison, and the court sentenced him on Thursday to six months in jail and five years' probation, the DA said.

"Night after night, this purported medical professional preyed on innocent patients through a spy camera lens, taking sick pleasure in exposing them — and he did it for nearly a year," Donnelly said. "Sanjai Syamaprasad exploited these victims at their most vulnerable, and he stole from them the security they are entitled to when seeking medical care. Now, he will learn what it feels like to be watched, when correction officers are patrolling past his cell for the next six months."

According to Donnelly, between July 2023 and April 2024, Syamaprasad put hidden cameras made to look like smoke detectors by using velcro discs on the walls inside bathrooms. Some of the bathrooms were for staff, in addition to the multiple patient bathrooms inside the sleep center, and in a public bathroom at STARS Rehabilitation, which is located in the same building as the sleep center, Donnelly said.

According to Donnelly, Syamaprasad would remove the cameras at the end of his shift and download all of the footage onto an SD card.

The cameras captured thousands of individuals, including a child, while they thought they were in the privacy of a bathroom, Donnelly said. Investigators recovered and reviewed some of the images from the videos and identified five individuals, which included the child, Donnelly said.

In April 2024, Northwell referred the conduct to the DA's office, and the following day, a search warrant was executed on his home in Brooklyn, where officials recovered phones, an SD card reader, and three laptops, Donnelly said.

Syamaprasad destroyed some evidence, including throwing one of the cameras and a broken-up SD card into a trash can at a CVS in Brooklyn, but an NCPD detective was able to recover the camera, Donnelly said.

Detective Investigators arrested Syamaprasad on the same day, April 25, 2024, according to Donnelly.